San Bernardino: Mesolcina, Centro Sportivo San Remo Lago d’Isola

San Bernardino

San Bernardino: Villaggio

Campo Blenio

Lopagno: Val Colla Lugano

Lopagno: Lugano San Salvatore

Near the crest of the pass lies the holiday resort San Bernardino. Bogs, pine trees and a special flora lend San Bernardino a unique atmosphere. The wet meadows around the village produce a wetland flora that boasts the largest number of species in the southern part of the Alps. In winter, when the pass road is closed, San Bernardino turns into a winter sport paradise.

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Both a main road and a motorway lead from Chur via Thusis, through the valley of the Posterior Rhine (Hinterrhein) and the Grisons holiday region of Splügen/Rheinwald to Hinterrhein. While the motorway disappears into a tunnel as far as the village of San Bernardino, the mountain pass goes over a high, mysterious moor with sparkling pools and polished glacial rocks up to the top of the San Bernardino Pass at 2065 m and the beautiful mountain lake of Lago Moesola.

Although now, south of the Alps, you are in Italian-speaking parts, it is still a long way to the Ticino: the road goes for more than 40 km through the southern Grisons valley of Misox (Valle Mesolcina).

The Bernardino Pass has been in use since Roman times. The main difficulty was not the pass itself but the tricky route through the 300 m deep Rhine gorge between Thusis and Zillis, which does not bear the name Via Mala ("Bad Road") for no reason.

Summer

There are numerous footpaths across the bleak mountain scenery around San Bernardino, including a themed walk about the natural, cultural and historic features of the region. Various crossings link the northern end of the Misox with the parallel Calanca valley in the west and the Italian Valle San Giacomo in the east. San Bernardino is the starting point for the high-altitude route "Sentiero Alpino Calanca" (42 km, 3 to 4 daily stages) to Santa Maria, where the Calanca valley meets the Misox.

In the San Bernardino adventure park you can test your courage on a breathtaking 550 m long swaying course between the trees or on a ride on the 150 m Tyrolienne cable to cross the Isola Lake. By bike, the descent from the top of the pass into the Misox is an exhilarating experience, with 2000 metres of freewheeling!

Winter

During the winter when the pass is closed, San Bernardino turns into a paradise for snow sports. The two ski lifts in the village (Pian Cales) are in the center of the village. The ski lifts offer 5 kilometers of pistes. Nordic skiers have 33 kilometers of tracks all around the village and Lake Isola at their disposal. Winter hikers will find 14 kilometers of winter hiking trails. Visitors who prefer to take it easy may want to turn a few rounds in the artificial ice rink, or watch a hockey tournament.

Destination

*All prices are in Swiss Francs and correct at time of print. Prices shown in currencies other than Swiss Francs are guideline prices only and subject to exchange rate variations. All programmes and prices are subject to change without prior notice.